A Democratic Socialist Blog

Star Trek and Socialism

I watched Star Trek my whole life, that and Kung Fu have honed my values. Star Trek projects a Social Democracy in s futuristic society of Earth. Conservatives try and deny this. There are many episode’s where Star Trek spoke about Socialist policies.

The government of the United Federation of Planets consists of the central government, the Federation, and planetary governments who share joint-sovereignty with the central government (as with the United States). The chief of state or chief of government of most planets are referred to as Governor, Prime Minister, or First Minister. The central government is composed of the Office of the President, the President’s Cabinet, the Federation Council which is composed of an equal number of representatives from each member planet, and the Federation Supreme Court.

But even Social conditions are projected, Once Councilor Troy said, “We have created a world that wants for Anything.”

In Voyager Captain Janeway mentioned that a tme that Tom Paris was unemployed that, he was subject to a Basic Income, as all are not to fall into poverty. In many ways, Voyager was closer to the original Star Trek than any of the other spin-off shows because it mostly featured a fun crew jumping around from planet to planet and space politics were usually left back in the alpha quadrant. But occasionally Voyager’s social commentary rocked, and this little-talked about two-part episode is a great example. In an inversion of stories about labor politics, Captain Janeway and crew find themselves in bizarre situation: a culture which doesn’t have a shortage of resources, but rather a shortage of labor to fill jobs. The solution? They poach people with the necessary skills, wipe their memories and put them to work. With echoes of Philip K. Dick’s ”Paycheck” this episode put familiar characters in brand new circumstances in which their solid character traits nonetheless emerged. More importantly, the society that is depicted makes a fairly strong commentary on not only negative working conditions, but also the educational infrastructure of the future.

We may very well be on our way to achieving the Star Trek-like vision of a global-scale liberal democracy — one capable of ending nuclear proliferation, ensuring global security, intervening to end genocide, defending human rights, and putting a stop to human-caused climate change.

Thus far, globalization appears to be unfolding across three stages. The first phase is cultural globalization, the second economic, and the third political. The first and second stages are largely complete, though some protectionism still exists. The final stage has proven to be the most difficult; nation-states are incredibly hesitant to give up sovereignty. But the dissolution of borders may be an inexorable trend that underlies civilizational development, as witnessed by the unification of China under the Qin Dynasty, the formation of the United States of America, the current experiment known as the European Union, and the likely unification of all African countries. Taken to its logical conclusion, we may eventually achieve a democratic planetary government.

Vulcans embraced cultural and racial diversity, as again evidenced through the IDIC. Vulcans also embraced a pacifist philosophy, going so far as to follow strict vegan diets to avoid killing even non-sentient animals. Vulcans believed that the needs of a very large group should go before the needs of a very small group or any individual.

Though not all Socialist are vegetarians, we respect animal welfare.

Keep in mind, there where many shows about Labor, National Health Care, Social Justice, and more.

Star Trek is about the future. to emulate the United Federation of Planets, an admittedly noble institution, Hollywood writers and producers. The Federation was created as an ideal society – by definition – by Gene Roddenberry, therefore to conclude that its ethical foundations are optimal is kind of like discovering reflections of Democratic Socialism.